News of Barclay Friends' Residents and Staff

Barclay Friends’ Employee Honored as Presenter at Job Expo

Congratulations Tom, for a job well done! Tom, a part-time Dining Services employee of Barclay Friends, was recently honored as one of three students who were chosen by the staff of the Discover Program to have an information booth at the recent Job Expo held at the Chester County Intermediate Unit.  Tom gave a presentation to small groups of students in the program describing what Barclay Friends was, where he worked at Barclay Friends, his job duties, and displayed his Dining Services uniform.  A brief question and answer session followed his presentation. Then each group of students would move to another booth and Tom would start his presentation again to a new group of students.  The staff of the Discover Program, with Tom’s guidance, took photos of Tom at work at Barclay Friends which were made into a display and repeated on the computer screen at Tom’s booth. Robin, Barclay Friends Dining Services Director, was invited to attend the Job Expo and view Tom’s presentation that she said was "Great!"  

Tom trained at Barclay Friends for six months as part of the Discover Program prior to being hired by Robin, Dining Services Director.  The Discover Program is part of the Chester County Intermediate Unit Transitional Living curriculum that assists students with special needs to prepare for life after high school.  The Transitional Living program places students in real world settings so that students become fully participating members of their communities.  After his graduation from high school, Tommy will continue to work at Barclay Friends.

Discipline and Tenacity Demonstrated by Woolman Employee

We have many exemplary employees at Barclay Friends and are proud of their numerous achievements. One such employee is Chicqueta, known as “Que” by the residents and staff at Barclay Friends. Chicqueta was working for Barclay Friends as a Resident Assistant in 2008 when she decided to return to school to become a Licensed Practical Nurse (LPN). While continuing to work full-time at Barclay Friends and caring for her two preschool sons, Chicqueta enrolled in the 18 month LPN training program at the Center for the Arts and Technology. Her maternal grandmother helped care for her sons while she worked and attended class.  On January 21, 2009, her home in Coatesville was destroyed by an arsonist.  Despite that set-back, Chicqueta continued to work and attend school with the loving support of her maternal grandmother, father, and other members of her family all of whom whole-heartedly supported her decision to become an LPN. 

While she completed her LPN program and continued working at Barclay Friends, her father moved in with her to help care for her sons.  Chicqueta is now enrolled in the College Network Excelsior Program to become a Registered Nurse (RN). This program allows students to take their courses on-line.  When it is time to complete her clinical coursework, she plans to work with the staff in Cotter at Barclay Friends for that training while continuing her employment in Woolman. Chicqueta demonstrates a true thirst for knowledge as she may not stop her education once she has achieved her goal of becoming a Registered Nurse.  Instead she is researching programs to be trained as a Physician’s Assistant! By the way, Chicqueta means “little one” in Spanish, but there is nothing little about this woman’s work ethnic or her dreams!  We are proud of Que and honor her discipline and tenacity to achieve her goals.

Applying Horticulture to Healing—Pathway to Wellness

Paula, the Horticultural Therapist at Barclay Friends, joined her colleagues from the Mid-Atlantic region to educate the public about her profession at the 2010 Philadelphia International Flower Show.  In keeping with this year's theme, "Passport to the World", the Mid-Atlantic Horticultural Therapy Network is demonstrating how horticultural therapy is delivered across the world, to promote health and well-being in a variety of settings and with a variety of people.  The horticultural therapy program at Barclay Friends was featured, along with dozens of other programs from across the world, in a media presentation within the display.The Mid-Atlantic Horticultural Therapy Network received an Award of Distinction in the Non-academic Educational category for their display which included vertical garden beds, raised planters, and adaptive tools used to make gardening easier for people who have had a stroke or those who have arthritis.

2009 CREATIVE ART AWARD PRESENTED TO WOOLMAN RESIDENT

Barclay Friends' employees Vaughn, Recreation and Arts Associate, and Carol, Executive Director, recently presented the 2009 Creative Arts Award of the Pennsylvania Activity Professional Association to Jack, a Woolman resident at Barclay Friends, who is shown holding his plague in the photo. Submissions from residents of the 260 member communities were judged for this top honor which was announced at the Pennsylvania Activity Professional Association awards ceremony in State College in October.

CERTIFIED WOUND CARE SPECIALIST

Barclay Friends is one of the few facilities in this area to have a Registered Nurse who is a Certified Wound Care Specialist on staff. The National Alliance of Wound Care® (NAWC®) is a non-profit organization that is dedicated to the advancement and promotion of excellence in wound care through the certification of wound care practitioners. Certification provides an added credential beyond licensure and demonstrates by examination that the practitioner has acquired a core body of specialized knowledge. In addition, certification promotes consumer protection and confers peer and public recognition to those individuals who prove proficient in their practice.

WOOLMAN RESIDENT PARTICIPATES IN "GOING GREEN" ART EXHIBIT

Jack, a Woolman resident, and Karen examine Jack’s WWII tank made to scale of all recycled materials and exhibited for the Exton Square Mall’s “Going Green” theme at the Chester County Art Association’s Exton Square Studio where Karen is the Exhibit Coordinator.

NATIONAL WEAR RED DAY

Sponsored by the Wellness Program, Barclay Friends employees wore red on National Wear Red Day to help spread the message, "Heart Disease Doesn't Care What You Wear---It's the #1 Killer of Women."

KENDAL OUTREACH RECEIVES TWO GRANTS TO IMPROVE LONG-TERM CARE PROGRAMS

Kendal Outreach, LLC (Kennett Square, Pennsylvania) has received two grants to improve nurse leadership and reduce restraint use in Pennsylvania long-term care facilities. The first grant, a three-year grant from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services' Health Resources and Services Administration, supports a leadership training program for directors of nursing and registered nurse leaders at Delaware Valley-area, Pennsylvania, nursing homes. The training program will be provided in collaboration with Widener University (Chester, Pennsylvania). Barclay Friends’ Director of Nursing and our Certified Wound Care Specialist will be attending this training program. 

The second grant, from the Pennsylvania Department of Welfare, will extend the Pennsylvania Restraint Reduction Initiative (PRRI) through June 30, 2010, according to an August 5, 2009 press release. PRRI, initiated in 1996, has resulted in a 90% reduction in restraint use among Pennsylvania long-term care facilities from 1996 to 2008.